Classical Classroom, Episode 46: RERUN - Todd Reynolds Defines “Classical Music” – Sorta

04/19/16 • 31 min

Today – that is April 18th 2016 – much of our fair city of Houston is underwater. There was a big scary flood, the power’s out, the roads are lakes, and we, the Classical Classroom team, literally can’t get to the station to access the files we need to post our new episode. We tried to cobble together an ark, but it turns out that’s a whole thing. However! Through sheer grit, determination and the power of the human spirit to use computers, we have unearthed this episode with Todd Reynolds, which we think – nay! – we know you will enjoy.

Also, on a serious note, our city is in bad shape and a lot of folks are going to need some help after the floodwaters subside. If you can help, visit the Texas Red Cross Gulf Coast Region website and make a donation. That’s also a good place to go if you are in need of help.

What do we mean when we say “classical music”? Sure, sure: it refers to a period of music, like “Baroque” or “Romantic”. But we largely use the word as a sort of generic brand-name for a specific variety of sound. In this episode of Classical Classroom, genre-ignoring violinist Todd Reynolds attempts to define classical music. Does he succeed? Does he give up and just start talking about Prince instead? Maybe and maybe! Listen to this episode to find out.

Audio production by Todd “Timbalander” Hulslander with at least 3 really good suggestions from Dacia Clay.

Music in this episode:

Third Construction by John Cage
Composition for Four Instruments by Milton Babbitt
“Pulses” from Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich
Symphony No. 41 (the “Jupiter Symphony”), Molto Allegro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“Happy” from G I R L by Pharrell Williams
“Let’s Go Crazy” from Purple Rain by Prince and the Revolution
“Crossroads” and “Taskforce: Farmlab” from Outerborough by Todd Reynolds
Fantasia in G Major, BWV 571 by Johann Sebastian Bach

Todd Reynolds was a special guest of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts.

ABOUT THE MITCHELL CENTER The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts is dedicated to interdisciplinary collaboration across the performing, visual, and literary arts. Based at the University of Houston, the Mitchell Center commissions and produces new works, presents public performances and exhibitions, offers curriculum and scholarships, and hosts residencies with renowned visiting artists from throughout the world. The Center is home to the Mitchell Artist Lecture, an annual event featuring a pioneer in contemporary art-making, as well as CounterCurrent, an annual spring festival of new performance. The Mitchell Center forms an alliance among five departments at UH: the School of Art, Moores School of Music, School of Theatre & Dance, Creative Writing Program, and Blaffer Art Museum. For more information visit www.mitchellcenterforarts.org.

For more about Todd Reynolds check out his blog: www.toddreynolds.wordpress.com

Audio production by Todd “Timbalander” Hulslander with at least 3 really good suggestions from Dacia Clay.

Music in this episode:

Third Construction by John Cage
Composition for Four Instruments by Milton Babbitt
“Pulses” from Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich
Symphony No. 41 (the “Jupiter Symphony”), Molto Allegro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“Happy” from G I R L by Pharrell Williams
“Let’s Go Crazy” from Purple Rain by Prince and the Revolution
“Crossroads” and “Taskforce: Farmlab” from Outerborough by Todd Reynolds
Fantasia in G Major, BWV 571 by Johann Sebastian Bach

Todd Reynolds was a special guest of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts.

For more about Todd Reynolds check out his blog: www.toddreynolds.wordpress.com

Previous Episode

Classical Classroom, Episode 124: Hélène Grimaud Wades Into The Deep End Of “Water”

Hélène Grimaud‘s recent release on Deutsche Grammophon, is a true “concept album.” Flowing with water themed music from the classical repertoire it also bathes us with new musical bridges and transitions from composer and producer, Nitin Sawhney.

“What inspired the idea to record this album is really the fascination that so many composers of the 19th and 20th centuries seem to have had with the element of water,” Grimaud states.

In this episode, Hélène and Dacia surf through the music selections, and wade through the details of how a project such as this ebbs and flows. They navigate through the process, from a tiny ripple of an idea to a tsunami of musical expression in the final CD release. They also dive into the ecological importance of conservation and Hélène’s goal of streaming awareness for safe, clean water around the world.

With all of the good music on this show, you might need a bigger boat!

Featuring works by nine composers: Berio’s Wasserklavier and includes Takemitsu’s Rain Tree Sketch II, Fauré’s Barcarolle No.5, Ravel’s Jeux d’eau, “Almería” from Albéniz’s Iberia, Liszt’s Les Jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este, the first movement of Janáček’s In the Mists, and Debussy’s La cathédrale engloutie.

Audio production by Todd “Trickle” Hulslander with splashing about by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio.

Next Episode

Classical Classroom, Episode 125: The Actualization Of Beethoven, With Simone Gramaglia

We could just as easily have called this episode, Growing Up Beethoven, or Build-A-Beethoven, or Beethoven: From Boy to Boss, but “actualization” is more accurate. As violist Simone Gramaglia of Quartetto di Cremona explains, like any artist we study in hindsight, Beethoven’s creative development has distinct, identifiable periods. Unlike other artists, as he evolved, Beethoven moved increasingly away from rules and conventions, and into something transcendent: a full expression of his own unique creative vision. What I’m trying to say is that Beethoven had a lot in common with Prince.

All music in this episode from Quartetto di Cremona’s Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, including: